Illegal stone quarries: Nilagiris pits of death

BALASORE: Four students of Class VI and Class VII drowned in an abandoned pit in Ranipokhari quarry under Oupada block in Balasore district on August 21.  They reportedly slipped into the pit filled with rainwater. The mishap has raised questions on the illegal quarries flourishing in the area.Sources said the quarry has been running illegally for more than a decade. Though the area comes under the jurisdiction of Kuldiha Reserve Forest and quarrying is banned, the digging continues in full public glare.That was not the ‘only’ tragedy though. At least 17 persons have died in the quarry-related mishaps on the hilly areas in Oupada, Kupari and Nilagiri in the last three years. While seven drowned in the wide open pits, 10 others died and 27 sustained serious injuries during blasting in three years.  In 2009, three persons drowned in a quarry in Nilagiri sub-division area.A social worker Pramod Das said though the local villagers had intimated the administration about the illegal quarry, no action was taken. “Now innocent people are paying the price.” Both the officials and quarry mafia are responsible for such tragic accidents, alleged locals and demanded stringent action against the officials concerned and the lessee. Laxminarayan Parida, father of the two drowned students, said though the local tehasildar had promised to fill the pits with fly-ash, soil and dust, no steps have been taken yet.   Over 100 illegal quarries are functioning in the sub-division under the nose of the administration.  A month ago a committee comprising officials from the district administration, police and forest departments was formed to check illegal quarrying. It was also decided that the pits would be filled with fly-ash and plantation activities undertaken on the filled up land but not a single pit has been filled yet.   Sub-Collector Ramesh Rout said action was initiated whenever an allegation against illegal quarry was reported.  “We also have collected fines from the violators. Recently we had sought approval from the State Pollution Control Board for filling up the pits but the latter didn’t allow. We will again convene a meeting with the officials of the board and Forest Department and take a decision,” he said.